Creativity for Development (Crea4dev) is a new open access course from UNITAR. This short course is aimed at creative entrepreneurs, those who work with or are interested in the creative industries, and policy makers. Its aim is to enable them to promote cultural diversity and use creativity to promote sustainable development. This goal has much in common with the aims of this journal and indeed our charity’s work as a whole. For example, in 2002 we ran the first UK international conference on Creativity & Cultural Diversity and this triggered much of our later work including this journal.

The Unitar Creativity for Development consists of four modules:

• Creativity and Creative Economy
• Places, Networks and Connectivity
• Characteristics of the Creative Labour Market
• Creative Business.

Each module has a similar format starting with a short video, followed by an assessment in the form of a quiz. These core elements are complemented by useful additional material (videos, reports and articles) for those who want to ‘dig deeper’ - and this is highly recommended. Another valuable feature is the Learning Forum where participants can share their ideas with others and reflect on the course material. And there is a support centre, Ask and Talk, for help with any aspect of working through the course.

This self-paced course can be accessed online. Registration is open until 20 December 2016 (course completion date: 23 December 2016). It is suggested that the basic course can be completed in four hours, but it is likely to take rather longer for those who choose to delve into the additional material. Those who complete the course with a pass rate of 60% or more can receive a certificate for which a fee of $50 USD is payable.

My only slight niggle is not with the course itself but rather with its reference to the term ‘creative industries’. This terminology is widely accepted and understood, but I find it misleading since surely creativity is needed in all industries and indeed in everyday life as well? Having said that, this course provides a valuable introduction to this fascinating field and has much to recommend it.

To register for the course use this link: Creativity for Development